The invention relates to a vehicle with a navigation device and, more particularly, to a vehicle with a navigation device in which a route or road network, which can be travelled upon by the vehicle, is stored along with associated data on the road surroundings. The navigation device contains a system for determining the position of the vehicle on the route network.
Known application purposes of such navigation devices in vehicles are to facilitate the control of the vehicle on the stored route network on which it can travel, as specified for example in German Patent document DE 39 18 668 C2, or to permit a misappropriated vehicle to be located, see for example the periodical article by R. Gramm, Satellitenhilfe gegen Auto-Klau "Using Satellites to Combat Car Theft", Funkschau 16/1993, page 42. Various means are customary for determining the position of a vehicle, for example the so-called "Global Positioning System" (GPS).
A vehicle with a navigation device of the type mentioned above is known for example from the periodical publication Nahverkehrs-Praxis "local transport in practice", No. 11/1987 page 435, the so-called "Travel Pilot" from Blaupunkt being used as a navigation device. For navigation, storage of additional information, for example on hotels, restaurants and fuel filling stations, or in the manner of a travel guide, is proposed as a future special embodiment.
In the laid-open German patent publication DE 43 00 927 A1, a computer-supported route control system for land vehicles is disclosed in which it is possible to store in an associated database, not only cartographic route systems, but also additional information in the form of static data on railway routes, the maximum vehicle heights for bridges etc. and/or in the form of dynamic data relating to information on roadworks, obstacles, traffic congestion etc.
The route or road network on which a vehicle can travel frequently has covered areas, such as tunnels, underpasses, multi-story car parks and underground garages. When a vehicle drives into such a route network area, a multiplicity of control functions have to be carried out in order to achieve a high level of driving convenience. These functions can be jointly triggered in modern cars using a so-called tunnel switch which has to be operated manually. This permits the control activations, which otherwise have to be carried out individually, to be conveniently reduced to a single activation of the tunnel switch. Typically, the tunnel-mode function which is activated in this way includes the closing of all the vehicle openings, i.e. of the windows and, if appropriate, of a sunroof, the switching-on of dipped headlights, the switching over of an air conditioning system from fresh air mode to air recirculation mode and the switching over of an audio system from radio reception to recorded-medium mode.
There is therefore needed a vehicle of the type mentioned above which, while utilizing the navigation device, provides an increased level of operating convenience, in particular for travelling on route networks having covered areas.
These needs are met according to the present invention by a vehicle having a navigation device in which a route or road network, which can be travelled on by the vehicle, is stored along with associated data on the surroundings. The navigation device contains a system for determining the position of the vehicle on the route network. The stored data on the road network surroundings include at least data on covered road network areas, such as tunnels and the like. The navigation device detects that the vehicle is about to travel through a covered road network area and signals this information to a control unit. In response, the control unit activates a tunnel-mode function and, to this end, actuates certain vehicle components in a prescribed manner. In particular, the control unit performs at least one of the following functions: switches on the external vehicle lights, closes the vehicle openings, switches a vehicle air-conditioning system to its air recirculation mode, interrupts ventilation of the vehicle interior, and sets a vehicle audio system to a recorded-medium mode.
In the navigation device of this vehicle according to the invention there is stored, inter alia, data on covered road network areas, i.e. in particular data on their precise location and length. In this way, the navigation device can detect, in conjunction with the ongoing determination of the position of the vehicle, when the vehicle is about to travel through such a covered road network area. As soon as this is the case during a trip, the navigation device transmits an appropriate message to a control unit which, in response, automatically actuates certain vehicle components in a tunnel-mode function in order to switch on the vehicle lights, close the vehicle openings, switch the air conditioning system to air recirculation mode and/or switch the audio system to recorded-medium mode. As a result, the vehicle automatically assumes the suitable operating state for travelling through the covered road network area, for example a tunnel, an underpass, a multi-story car park or an underground garage, without the driver of the vehicle having to pay attention himself to activating the tunnel-mode function. In this way, a particularly high level of operating convenience when travelling through such sections of road networks is obtained for vehicles with a navigation device and a tunnel-mode function.
In a further advantageous embodiment, the navigation device also detects when the vehicle leaves a covered road network area which it has previously travelled through, and the navigation device signals this to the control unit which, in response, advantageously automatically returns the involved vehicle components to their operating state before the tunnel-mode function is activated.
Other objects, advantages and novel features of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description of the invention when considered in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.